Improvement in machines for skiving boot and shoe counters



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. 0. LITT'LEFIELD.

MACHINES FOR smvme BOOT AND SHOE COUNTERS. No. 175,121. Patented March21.1876.

lV/T/VESSES INVENTOR yaw Bio 1M W 4,, T. W Phat 4 N. PETERS,PHOTO-UTNOGRAPNER. wnsums'mu. D, C.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. O 'LITTLEFIELD.

MACHINES FDR SKIVING BOOT AND SHOE COUNTERS. No.175,121. Patented March21,1876.

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NFEI'ERS, PHOTOUTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C,

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

0. LITTLEFIELD. MACHINES FOR SKIV'ING BOOT AND SHOE COUNTERS.

No.175', 121. Patented March 21,1876.

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NFFI'ERS, FHOTO UTHOGKQPHER rimangswms PATENT OFFICE.

ORLANDO LITTLEFIELD, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAOHINES FOR SKIVING BOOT AND SHOE COUNTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 125,121, dated March21, 1676 applieation filcd May 31,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ORLANDO LITTLEFIELD, ofLawrence, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented-a new and useful or Improved Machine for Skiving Boot and ShoeCounters, of which the following is a specification This nventionrelates to that classlof shiv- 1n g-machines which are constructed witha fixed cutter or skiving-knife, and rotating friction feed-wheels,which feed or carry the article V of the line which is'beingskived, andthe necessity of giving-suchline the proper direction past theknife-edge may render .necessary; second, in a gage of the edge of thestiffening, which gage is constructed and arranged to extend past thecutting-edge ofthe knife, and is adjustable relatively to thednner planeof the feeding-wheels, by which means the edge of the stiffening at thepoint of contact with the knife-edgeis held in exact and proper relativeposition thereto; third, inso constructing or arranging the kniferelatively to the plane of the feed-wheels, that the edge of the knifeshall be oblique to the line of mo ,tion of the feed-wheelsflnstead ofbeing at right-angles therewith, as heretofore fourth,

in providing a four-fold adjustment of the skiving knife, and in thedevices whereby such compound adjustment is accomplished. Thisadjustment consists, first, in a movement of the knife in the directionof the lineof motionof the feed-wheels,-s o as to bring the cutting-edge nearer. to or fartherfrom the axis of i the wheels; second iu-avertical adjustment as the thickness of stiffening may require; third,in the tangentialline'of theknife relatively' to the face of the largefeed-wheel, or

.in its deviation fromfatangent with the face of thewheel at the pointof contact with the j stiffening with the knife aud feed-wheel; and"fourth, 'in an adjustment of" the transverse l plane of the kniferelative to the horizon, or

to the face of the feed-wheel.

Figure 1 is a side elevation taken attheleft of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an endelevation taken at the right of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached top or planview of the right-hand portion of the machine, as seen in Fig. 1. Fig.4. is a de- Fig. 3, and E F, Fig. 2, and shown as viewed from the rightof Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detached horizontal section, taken on line 0 D,Fig. 2, and shown as viewed from the right of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is adetached top or plan view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modificationof the cutting-blade and its holder. Fig. 7 is a detached elevation, asviewed from a standpoint at the left of Fig. 1. 1 In the drawings,arepresents the frame of the machine. b is a shaft, journaled at itsrespective ends in boxes 0 d. e is a similar shaft, which, at the backend, (shown at the left in Fig. 1,) is journaled in a box, shown bydotted lines in said figure, and inserted in a passage through theframe. This box is supported by and pivoted upon two screw-bolts,threaded in opposite sides of the frame, in the position of the oneshown at g. The front end of the shaft e is journaled in box f, as shownin Fig; 2. This box is also located in a recess iu'the frame, allowing afreevertitzal movement. It is seated on the screw-bolt 2, which isthreaded in the frame, as showuby dotted lines, a spiral spring, a,regulated in its .pres ure by screw b, and bearing upon the upper sideof the box. Thus the screw zserves as apositive seatfor the box, whilethe spring 41 serves as a yielding resistance to its upper movementwhile the stiffening is being skived, as will be more fully describedinits order. G H represent a fast and loose pulley'on shaft 6, a belt onsaid pulleys serving "to'aotuate 'the' machine. h is a gear-wheel,secured on shaft 1), and j is a pinion secured on shafte, while i is asmooth-faced wheel securedon the .former shaft, and k is a toothed wheelsecured on the latter shaft. The gears by in theirdiameters bear thesame relation to 'eachj'other asdo the wheels 1; k, so that thesipeedat' the periphery of these wheels is coincident, and each tends toimpart the same movement to any'flat substance" interposed'b'etw'eeuthem tachedvertical section, taken on "line A B,

passes between them, force it past the edge of the face of wheel 5. l isa bar, which is formed and subjected to their united motion. Thedirection of movement of the feed-wheelz' is shown by the arrow in Fig.2, and this wheel and wheel it move in conjunction. They, by theirunited action upon the stiffening as it the knife 01;, the relativeposition of which is plainly shown in Fig. 2. n is the presserfoot,which is held and has a vertical movement in the ears of the carrier 0.This carrirr is secured by set-screw u in bracket t. A slot in thecarrier through which the set-screw passes, as shown in Fig. 3, allowsan adjustment to the right or left, as viewed in Fig. 1, while thebracket t, which at its lower end is pivoted, as shown by dotted lines,in standard m, has a right and left adjustment, as viewed in Fig. 2, bymeans of the slot 10 and the locking-screw '0, which latter secures itin position.

Thus the adjustment of carrier 0 by means of the bracket, and theindependent adjustment of the carrier, the presser-foot may be placed inany desired position relatively to the cutting-point of the knife, bywhich means convex lines of greatly varying radii may be automaticallyfed past the'knife, as the presser-foot, by means of its adjustablepressure, next to be described, furnishes the exact degree of necessaryresistance to allow the feedwheels d k to force the line to be skivedpast the edge of the knife.

8 is a check-nut, threaded upon the presserfoot rod, and which, by itscontact with the top of holder 0, determines the ultimate descent of thefoot. P is a coiled spring, through which the rod passes, and whichexerts its full force between screw-nut 1' and the upper ear of thecarrier, and by adjusting the nut 4* either up or down, the degree ofpressure exerted by the foot upon the stiffening may be varied at will.I is the feeding-table, formed upon standard m, and serves to facilitatethe work of feeding the stiffening to the knife, and also furnishes abearing against which the presser-foot acts through the interposedstiffening.

The devices for holding and adjusting the knife are described asfollows: 0 is a projectin g plate, formed upon or secured to frame a, asshown in Figs. 2, 3, 6, and 7. In this plate is a short slot, d, outupon the arc of a circle of the same radius as the distance from thepoint of knifew to bolt 0, which passes through this slot. f is anintermediate plate, which is secured to plate 0 by the bolt e, as shownin Figs. 3, 5, 6, 7. h is a vibrating plate, which is secured to theintermediate plate f by the bolti passing through a slot, as shown. Thisplate h is formed with a longitudinal rib at the lower edge, which fitsinto a corresponding groove in plate f, as shown in Fig. 4. The twoset-screwsjj, threaded in plate It, and bearing against plate j, serve,conjointly with bolt '5', to adjust the plate h at any angle which shalladjust the edge of the knife relatively to with a longitudinal ribsimilar to plate h. This rib is seated in a corresponding groove in theplate j, as shown in Fig. 4. The screw-bolt m, seated in plate h, andpassing through 1, serves as the means of securing bladex in position inthe seats formed respectively in h and l, as shown in said Fig. 4. k isa setscrew, threaded in an ear formed upon plate f, and which actsagainst plate h, and not only resists end pressure upon the knife, butserves as the means of adjusting the knife in the direction of its axis.g g are two set-screws, threaded in cars formed upon plate 0, and whichserve both to resist upward pressure upon the cutter, and as the meansof adjusting said cutter in its length at the desired angle, so that itsedge shall enter the stiffening at the angle of least resistance, thusinsuring the best possible results in its work. It is thus shown thatthe cutter wmay be adjusted in its seats in plate It! and cap l eitherto the right or left, as shown in Fig. 1, and relatively to the verticalcentral line of'wheels t k, as prac-- tical results may demand; and, foraccomplishin g a more delicate adjustment in the same direction withoutreleasing the knife in its holder, by partially slackeningthe nut onbolt '5, and actuating set-screw k, such adjustment may be made in anydesired degree, the knife and its holder being, in such case, movedtogether.

By means of the slot d in arm 0, and the bolt 0 and set-screw g, avertical adjustment may be imparted to plate f, and, through it, to theknife; and by the same means the relative heights of the ends of theknife may be adjusted, as also the edge in regard to its distance fromthe face-wheel ;-and the parallelism of the knife-edge to the face ofthe wheel is adjusted by means of bolt 43 and set-screwj, acting uponthe rocking plate h, as described, this latter adjustment determiningthe angle of the skived beve1. The smaller feed-wheel kis toothed asshown, and its contact with the stiffening resting upon the face ofwheel '8 drives the stiffening past the knife. y is a gage secured toframe a, and is inserted between frame a and the plane of wheels 13 andk. It extends past the edge of the knife, and above and below its edge,as is shown by dotted lines in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, thereby offering abroad and extended surface to the edge of the stiffening, andeffectually resisting the inclination of the knife to laterally displacethe stiffening from the correct line of movement. In Figs. 1 and 3 theknife is shown with the line of the edge oblique to the side linesthereof, the plane of the feedwheels, and the line of movement of thestiffening; but in Fig. 6 the lineof the knife-edge is shown, by dottedlines, at right angles with'its own side lines, but oblique to the planeof the feed-wheels and the line of movement of thestifl'ening. Thislatter result is accomplished 'by means of the angle-arm w, formed uponplate It, and to receive the knife in a seat, as shown in Fig. 4..

The peculiar advantage in thus arranging the cutting-edge of the knifeoblique to the axis of the feed-wheels, instead of in a line therewith,as has heretofore been practiced, arises from the fact that when theedge of the knife is in line with the axis of the feed-wheels it acts atthe same moment upon the entire line of fibers extending across the faceof the bevel thus being cut by the knife; but, when arranged oblique tothe axis of the feed-wheels, it acts successively upon the line offibers extending across the bevel at right angles to the line of motion,and practically performs what is termed a drawing or gashing cut. whichobviates all tendency to crowd or double the stffening back. between thewheels.

I do not claim, broadly, a machine adapted to feed stiffenings past theedge of a cuttingblade by means of friction feed-wheels, as many suchhave been attempted; but

What I do claim is p 1. The combination, with an oblique-cutting bladeand feeding mechanism, consisting of the wheelt'and toothed wheel is,the guide y,extendin g beyond the cutting-edge of the knife, andadjustable relatively to the inner plane of the feeding wheels, by whichmeans the edge of the stiffening at the point of contact with the knife;edge is held in exact and proper relative position thereto,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with a feed mechanism,

the presser-foot a, when constructed and arranged to admit of a doubleadjustmentthat is, an adjustment relatively to the line of motion of thefeedwheels, and transversely thereand knife-holder h, the intermediateplate f,

provided with a vertical and oscillating adj ustment, substantially asdescribed and shown.

6. The combination of the rocking plate and knife-holder h l with theintermediate adjustable plate f and slotted bracket c,,arranged toproduce the compound adjustment of the knife in the directionssubstantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

ORLANDO LITTLEFIELD.

Witnesses:

ANDREW O. STONE, E. Huron.

